Thompson, who moved with his wife and children from a small town in Wisconsin, has lived and served in the city for 30 years. Thompson is the Pastor of Discipleship at Armitage Baptist Church, a multicultural church with many different ethnic groups, in Chicago, Illinois. He wrote to “produce a book that is both practical, with many real life illustrations, and at the same time include the academic information for classroom use.” Thompson achieved his objective. This book will be used for many years in colleges, seminaries, and other training centers by church planters and other ministers.
Thompson argued that half of the people in the world live in cities of at least one million people. Mission endeavors must probe into the heart of the world’s cities. Thompson indicated that more than 50 percent of new missionaries and pastors need to come to cities. Pastors, church planters, and missionaries need to master seven critical principles for ministry in highly populated areas. Reaching the disenfranchised and responding to the “absent father” were the first two critical matters addressed in the book.
Thompson established a policy with the employees at his Inner City Impact (Thompson’s first ministry responsibility in Chicago) ministry that required employees to live within a few blocks of the building. His goal was to provide an incarnational witness for Jesus Christ within the community. Commuting from the suburbs would undermine that approach. Thompson has maintained that incarnational approach in his current ministry role at Armitage Baptist Church. At Armitage, Thompson’s goal is to lead the church to disciple others by establishing and nurturing relationships with people in the community surrounding the church.
Thompson did not approach the difficult issues of living in the city blindly. He acknowledged that there are great challenges which accompany city ministry, especially for young families with children. Safe streets, good schools, and easy-going lifestyles are not part of normal city dwelling. Thus, ministers who sense a calling to the city were encouraged to remain in close connection with that divine mandate. Thompson asserted that God’s sovereignty in calling will provide the protection and direction needed for the family of the church planter.
Thompson challenged the reader regarding longevity in the ministry context. According to The Barna Group, the average pastor only stays five years in a church, even though the greatest ministry impact in a pastorate is in years five through fourteen. Thompson suggested that “stability” is one of the most valuable characteristics of a church located in a city. Cities are places of organizational and relational change. Divorce and unconventional family structures are the norm. Thus, stable churches with tenured leaders provide a needed sense of security to the neighborhood.
Paige Patterson—who contributed the foreword to the book—was correct in his assessment that the chapter on absentee fathers alone was worth the price of the book. Thompson raised important issues regarding the need for the church to address this issue. Thompson called this issue “the greatest problem in our society.” Thompson asserted that incarnational ministry with the intentional focus of breaking family cycles is the only hope for fundamental change within the city.
Overall, Thompson provided the reader with a well-written, documented, and personable look at incarnational ministry in the urban context. His personal commitment to the concepts of this book made reading it an inspiring endeavor. Perhaps, this work was the most effective book assigned
